Chat
05-03-2017, 10:29 AM
Sputnik had pretty big growth spurt in January/February and I started noticing some worrying changes in his front leg conformation. His pasterns got very straight to the point where his fetlock joints began to buckle over the front. He looks like he's walking on tip-toes and he stumbles sometimes, especially when walking downhill. There is no suspension at all in his fetlock joints and if he steps in a hole the joint buckles forward instead of stretching down to accommodate changes in terrain. It looked like his tendons had contracted and I was concerned that he might have a nutritional deficiency or joint deformity. I was mostly concerned that if it got worse it could eventually cripple him. Luckily he never showed any signs of pain and it didn't stop him from jumping, running, and playing like any normal, rambunctious young goat.
The vets in my area are competent and caring, but their knowledge of goats is limited, and most wethers in this area are eaten before they reach Sputnik's age. Since we were going to Greeley for the goat show anyway, I decided to make an appointment at CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. I figured there is probably a lot more knowledge up there, and this was a rare opportunity to take advantage of it since we'd be in the area.
When Sputnik arrived at CSU he was given the royal treatment. He was seen by no fewer than three fully qualified vets, two interns, and a good handful of students. They spent two hours with him, asked every conceivable question, watched from every angle while he walked up and down, flexed his joints every which way, studied his hair, skin and eyes for signs of mineral deficiencies or toxicities, and finally took x-rays of the joints themselves. I was very pleased with the thoroughness of their exam.
Sputnik truly endeared himself to his entourage of vets and vets-in-training. He performed all his tricks (repeatedly), stood where he was asked, allowed himself to be touched, and picked up his feet nicely. He was a model patient. I led him into the stocks so they could take his temperature without traumatizing him, and he walked right in without balking. He only peed once and left no pellets at all, which is very unusual for a goat. If it had been Finn we would have needed a dedicated janitor added to the mix!
The final prognosis was very good. Sputnik appears to be in very good health. There are no signs of vitamin or mineral deficiencies or toxicities and x-rays showed his bones and joints to be strong and sound. They problem, they said, is that his long leg bones grew faster than his flexor tendons which haven't had time to catch up and stretch down yet. He's on a seven-day course of Meloxicam to encourage him to walk normally and hopefully give those tendons an opportunity to stretch. They said if he didn't make much progress after a few days to trim his heels down 1/8" to force the tendons to flex a little. I think he's improved a tiny bit, but I plan to trim his heels today and see where that gets us. He'll be sore for a few days after trimming, but he should start walking better once he's had time to adjust. We'll see how it goes.
I'm really glad we took the time to take Sputnik to CSU. I was really pleased with the amount of care and attention Sputnik received, and I'm extremely pleased to hear that he is in very good health with a good prognosis. I'm also very happy with the bill. I came away paying less than $200 for the whole shebang. They only charged for one x-ray even though we got two, and it was discounted over $20! Maybe it's because Sputnik was such a good boy. I wasn't allowed to go into the x-ray room so I was nervous that Sputnik might have one of his panic attacks and not behave himself. But the girls said he was a wonderful, easy patient and stood nicely on the blocks for them. Yay Sputnik!
I'll try to take photos of Sputnik's feet today before and after I trim his heels, and I'll also try to post photos of the x-rays if I can figure out how to get them off the CD they gave me. They're in a weird format. This whole thing has been a good learning experience so far.
The vets in my area are competent and caring, but their knowledge of goats is limited, and most wethers in this area are eaten before they reach Sputnik's age. Since we were going to Greeley for the goat show anyway, I decided to make an appointment at CSU Veterinary Teaching Hospital. I figured there is probably a lot more knowledge up there, and this was a rare opportunity to take advantage of it since we'd be in the area.
When Sputnik arrived at CSU he was given the royal treatment. He was seen by no fewer than three fully qualified vets, two interns, and a good handful of students. They spent two hours with him, asked every conceivable question, watched from every angle while he walked up and down, flexed his joints every which way, studied his hair, skin and eyes for signs of mineral deficiencies or toxicities, and finally took x-rays of the joints themselves. I was very pleased with the thoroughness of their exam.
Sputnik truly endeared himself to his entourage of vets and vets-in-training. He performed all his tricks (repeatedly), stood where he was asked, allowed himself to be touched, and picked up his feet nicely. He was a model patient. I led him into the stocks so they could take his temperature without traumatizing him, and he walked right in without balking. He only peed once and left no pellets at all, which is very unusual for a goat. If it had been Finn we would have needed a dedicated janitor added to the mix!
The final prognosis was very good. Sputnik appears to be in very good health. There are no signs of vitamin or mineral deficiencies or toxicities and x-rays showed his bones and joints to be strong and sound. They problem, they said, is that his long leg bones grew faster than his flexor tendons which haven't had time to catch up and stretch down yet. He's on a seven-day course of Meloxicam to encourage him to walk normally and hopefully give those tendons an opportunity to stretch. They said if he didn't make much progress after a few days to trim his heels down 1/8" to force the tendons to flex a little. I think he's improved a tiny bit, but I plan to trim his heels today and see where that gets us. He'll be sore for a few days after trimming, but he should start walking better once he's had time to adjust. We'll see how it goes.
I'm really glad we took the time to take Sputnik to CSU. I was really pleased with the amount of care and attention Sputnik received, and I'm extremely pleased to hear that he is in very good health with a good prognosis. I'm also very happy with the bill. I came away paying less than $200 for the whole shebang. They only charged for one x-ray even though we got two, and it was discounted over $20! Maybe it's because Sputnik was such a good boy. I wasn't allowed to go into the x-ray room so I was nervous that Sputnik might have one of his panic attacks and not behave himself. But the girls said he was a wonderful, easy patient and stood nicely on the blocks for them. Yay Sputnik!
I'll try to take photos of Sputnik's feet today before and after I trim his heels, and I'll also try to post photos of the x-rays if I can figure out how to get them off the CD they gave me. They're in a weird format. This whole thing has been a good learning experience so far.